If we acknowledge that “magic is the art of changing consciousness at will”, something I hold very dear, then it stands to reason that the act of shaping a world out of symbols on a page is a magical act. Art is magic, and magic is art, and this month, I’m recommitting myself to both.

It’s well-documented that fasting is a tool in the shaman’s toolbox. It fosters altered states. It induces visions. With that in mind, I decided to make my Yom Kippur fast this year an explicitly magical practice. [Read more...]

I’ve been there: standing at a Samhain altar, about to priestess for my community for the very first time, when we were told that Jodi, a sweet woman who was always smiling, was not late; she was dead by her own hand, and just that morning. Statistically, Pagans are more likely to experience many of the risk factors for suicide than the average population. Learn about the symptoms and causes of depression and what to do if you or a loved one is suffering. [Read more...]

It’s funny–whenever my practice begins to falter, whenever I get tied up in how to please this deity or how to work that spell, it’s science that helps me center myself. The Tree of Life and the breathing Earth. The race of electrons and the swirl of galaxies. These things are my declaration. My Shema. [Read more...]